Citation

Forthofer JM, Butler BW, McHugh CW, Finney MA, Bradshaw LS, Stratton RD, Shannon KS, Wagenbrenner NS. Int. J. Wildland Fire 2014; 23(7): 982-994.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, International Association of Wildland Fire, Fire Research Institute, Publisher CSIRO Publishing)

DOI

10.1071/WF12090

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The effect of fine-resolution wind simulations on fire growth simulations is explored. The wind models are (1) a wind field consisting of constant speed and direction applied everywhere over the area of interest; (2) a tool based on the solution of the conservation of mass only (termed mass-conserving model) and (3) a tool based on a solution of conservation of mass and momentum (termed momentum-conserving model). Fire simulations use the FARSITE fire simulation system to simulate fire growth for one hypothetical fire and two actual wildfires. The momentum-conserving model produced fire perimeters that most closely matched the observed fire spread, followed by the mass-conserving model and then the uniform winds. The results suggest that momentum-conserving and mass-conserving models can reduce the sensitivity of fire growth simulations to input wind direction, which is advantageous to fire growth modellers. The mass-conserving and momentum-conserving wind models may be useful for operational use as decision support tools in wildland fire management, prescribed fire planning, smoke dispersion modelling, and firefighter and public safety.

Language: en